Games will go on, say defiant Olympic chiefs
NEW Ulster signing Ian Madigan believes he is returning to Ireland a more mature player than the one who departed these shores in the summer of 2016.
The Dubliner left Leinster in 2016, his last appearance for the national side coming on that summer’s tour to South Africa, and spent one year in the Top 14 with Bordeaux-Begles before representing Bristol over the past three seasons.
The emergence of Callum Sheedy and salary cap restrictions — the Bears made former Ulster star Charles Piutau the best paid player in England back in 2017 and have Fijian superstar Semi Radradra arriving next year — caused the soon-to-be 31-yearold to look elsewhere.
His availability piqued Ulster’s interest with the province making moves this season to add veteran presence to what is an ever-improving but still somewhat inexperienced panel and the out-half was impressed by the vision pitched by head coach Dan McFarland and his assistant Dwayne Peel.
“I’ve been away for the last four years and it felt like the right time to move home,” said Madigan.
“I was just hopeful that I could get picked up by one of the Irish provinces and I was lucky enough that Ulster showed a bit of interest.
“I was invited over and met with Dan McFarland and Dwayne Peel. I was really impressed with the vision that they have for the club and the rugby that they want to play.
“The facilities are world class and they’re blessed to have such a loyal supporter base. There’s a few familiar faces which is great and something I’m really looking forward to.
“When I was over talking with
Dan and Dwayne it was all about rugby and how I could fit into their team.”
Ulster’s incumbent No.10 is former Gloucester man Billy Burns, recently rewarded for his good form with a two-year contract extension and a call-up to the Ireland squad for the now suspended Six Nations, while Bill Johnston, Angus Curtis and Mike Lowry can all provide back-up.
Madigan himself can play centre and full-back but says he still principally sees himself as a fly-half. Having left Leinster ostensibly as Johnny Sexton’s return from Racing 92 limited his chances in the 10 jersey, the 30-times-capped Irish international feels he is better for the experience of his four years away.
“I was very happy in Leinster and left on great terms,” he said.
“When I was there initially and breaking through, you’re happy just being in the 23, starting five, 10, 15 games a year. The two years when Johnny was away I was starting the majority of games with Jimmy Gopperth either at 10 or 12.
“Then when you get to 25 or 26, you’re not as happy to be sitting on the bench, you want to be the guy driving the team on each week and having an influence over how the team plays.
“That was something I really wanted and ultimately why I moved to France. It was a big decision at the time.
“When you’re 25/26 heading over there you’ve got to organise getting all your stuff there, getting an apartment sorted and building a sustainable life for yourself over there, just being a bit more organised in everything you do, meeting a new squad, learning a new language — it’s something I really embraced and I was quite proficient after a couple of months. That whole process was great for giving me a wider outlook on life.
“It was an enjoyable year in the sense that I learned a lot about myself and it really helped me mature.
“The first year and a half (in Bristol), I was the main man, starting all the games.
“The change was really this year. In hindsight, signing a twoyear deal would have been ideal. They’ve a young guy (Callum Sheedy) coming through who is very good.
“What they needed three years ago when they brought me in isn’t necessarily what is needed now. With the constraints of the salary cap, they’re going to be looking to use the home-grown guys wherever they can and keep that salary cap free.
“I got a sense of that pretty quickly this year that I wasn’t in the future plans.
“It was tough to take at the time but you’ve just got to dust yourself off and try to look at the bigger picture.”
As it stands, only 57% of the Olympic field has been determined, and the IOC said they were ready to work with international federations to adapt their schedules as necessary, while not ruling out increasing the size of athlete quotas.
“Any increase in athlete quotas will be considered on a case-bycase basis under exceptional circumstances, with the support of the Organising Committee Tokyo 2020,” the statement said.
It added that any adaptations to qualification systems would be based either on rankings or historical results, and “reflect where possible the existing principles of the respective qualification system”.
The statement noted that “in some countries, athletes are even finding it hard to continue their regular training schedules”.
“The IOC are reassured by the solidarity and flexibility shown by the athletes, the (International Federations) and the (National Olympic Committees), that are managing these challenges across a number of sports,” the statement added.
“The IFs will make proposals for any adaptations to their respective qualification systems based on the principles outlined above. The adaptations need to be implemented sport by sport because of the differences between qualification systems.”
IOC president Thomas Bach said: “The health and wellbeing of all those involved in the preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is our number-one concern.”